One Hundred Themes
by Shana Hager
Summary: One Smasher. One-hundred themes. Who's coming with me? For later themes, I will rate this M.
1. Green

**Green**

He always loved the color green.

It was on his shirt and hat, true, but that wasn't the reason why he always loved it.

To him, green was more than what he wore. It was a symbol.

A symbol of identity, of being set apart from his brother.

A symbol of luck, like a shamrock or a four-leaf clover.

A symbol of life, like leaves on trees and lush grass on the ground.

A symbol of boldness, for there were times where he felt like he could paint everything around him in striking colors with his words and actions.

A symbol of national pride, for green was one of the colors of the Italian flag, one of the colors of his heritage.

It was as if he could take the color green and conform it to him. To his body, to his face, to his mind and to his spirit. With the color green, he could make a statement.

With the color green, he could be remembered.

With the color green, he could be—him.

He would always have a soft spot for the color green.


	2. Fraction

**Fraction**

A fraction was so small, so benign, yet so prominent in determining different outcomes. A fraction of a second. A fraction of an inch. A fraction of a point.

Fractions were everywhere. They dictated lives, paths and choices—the grade on a report card, the line between a successful experiment and a disaster, the permeable boundary between something edible and something poisonous.

A fraction was all it took to decide fate.

There was a match between two Ls. Lucas and Luigi. A psychic child from Nowhere and a plumber from Brooklyn. They battled it out on the rooftop of a drugstore in Onett. PSI arced like lightning bolts. Sticks swung. Rope Snakes slithered. Fireballs flew. Punches, kicks, headbutts, karate chops and more were dished out. Lucas would tell you for days after that Luigi was at the top of his game. He fought his hardest, performed his best. He was on par with the young PSI master.

The reason Luigi lost was plain and simple.

A fraction.

Here's what happened. They were both on their last stock and clashing ferociously. Lucas confirmed to those who snickered that though Luigi didn't win, it wasn't through lack of trying. On the contrary, he stayed in the fray right to the end. As Luigi charged up a finishing blow, Lucas did the same, and the attacks hit at the same time. Both fighters were launched off stage.

It was Luigi who smacked against the screen first.

A fraction of a second later, Lucas was also thrown against the screen.

A fraction of a second.

As such, Lucas was the last to be K.O'd. The fight officials rewound the tape over and over before they could reach a decision.

Lucas won. Luigi lost.

All due to a fraction.

A fraction of a second was all it took to judge the victor and the loser.

A fraction of a second snatched victory from one and gave it to another.

A fraction of a second…

Lucas spent many days after reassuring his opponent that he did exceptionally well, and that the match was decided due to a technicality.

A fraction of a second…

Those who didn't particularly care for Luigi spent many days after chortling about how he was beaten by someone a fraction of his age.

A fraction of his age…

A fraction of a second…

A fraction of a second…

…was the reason why it took weeks for things between these two Ls to return to some degree of normalcy.

 **Please R &R.**


	3. Adrenaline

**Adrenaline**

Who knew that a chemical secreted in the body could be so attractive?

For Luigi, adrenaline had a special source—the years as Mario's shadow, the adventures he was unceremoniously excluded from, the feelings of worthlessness and envy and aggression. Now, he would never physically lash out at anyone, mind you. He'd save it for when he really needed it.

Like in a kart race. These had been going on since 1992. In that first one, Luigi felt the beginnings of adrenaline creeping over. But in 1997, he'd been passed up for a star-collecting adventure a year earlier. His famous "I'm-a Luigi, number one!" was heard for the first time as his car blazed along the raceway, challenging the race leader and cleverly holding those bringing up the rear at bay. Since then, he'd look forward to every kart race so he could show everyone that Mario wasn't the only racing ace around here. Sometimes, his temper would flare, and he'd scream and gesture angrily at anyone who dared knock his kart off course. But they all laughed him off until 2014, three months after the Year of Luigi ended, when he plunged icy fear into their hearts with his searing Death Stare. They all got the message—don't mess with the L on the racetrack.

Or a sporting event. Luigi was good at a variety of sports. Tennis, soccer, baseball and even basketball and golf. Heck, Luigi could trump Tiger Woods if he wanted to! But by far, Luigi's favorite sports were the ones where he really got to sweat. Nobody thought he'd last a minute in these events, but he'd focus those hidden feelings inward and rock the house. He won the Power Tennis tournament over Mario and made it to the finals in both Strikers tournaments. And he didn't let his home world down when he faced down Team Sonic at the Olympics, starting in 2008.

Get him in the Smash tournaments, however, and you might as well be holding a match to an open furnace.

The effect has been spectacular, like an erupting volcano. In his first match back in 1999, Luigi had been cautious and tentative, resorting mainly to defensive strikes and getting a feel for his opponent. That all changed when the opponent let go with a hefty one to Luigi's face. Maybe it was the throbbing, or the feel and taste of his blood, or the contemptuous satisfaction on the opponent's face, but as soon as Luigi took that punch, something long dormant violently roared to life. He stopped thinking about the spectators and the homesickness and instead just _focused_ on his opponent and how he'd been regarded as a child and an afterthought. Immediately, Luigi straightened, clenched his fists, and BOOM! His now-signature powerful attacks began pouring forth, punctuated by mighty shouts. Though he took more blows from his opponent, he gave right back, and he eventually won by a narrow margin.

Over the course of seventeen years, Luigi's fighting style, strategies and matchups have evolved, but never his adrenaline rush. Spectators have found themselves drawn to him like a magnet at the figure he cuts on the battlefield. Bright, big eyes, determined posture, angular and expressive face, fast and strong, glowing and sweaty. He gets those feelings out, the feelings that clutter his mind, and it feels _good_. Nowadays, his stats are admirable, and he's learned to turn his weaknesses into strengths. At the start of a match, if he's feeling uneasy, he just lets those fiery emotions bubble to the surface, and he's a rocket lifting off.

God, he loves the feeling. It starts off in his toes and his fingertips, and the tingle spreads to his feet and hands, his wrists and ankles, his arms and legs, his neck and face and the crown of his head and finally his belly, his back, his chest and his heart. It's warm and electric, and it propels him to action and reaction. It's what makes him adored and mained by many in the Smash community.

It's something Luigi can see.

Something he can feel.

Hear.

Smell.

Taste.

It is—adrenaline.


End file.
